Knee, hip and back flexer



0. B. BRIGGS Nov. 28, 1967 KNEE, HIP AND BACK FLEXER Filed July 8, 1963 ATTORNEJ/ United States Patent Ofiice 3,354,879 Patented Nov. 28, 1967 3,354,879 KNEE, HIP AND BACK FLEXER Odis B. Briggs, 29% Concord Road, Beaumont, Tex. 77703 Filed July 8, 1963, Ser. No. 293,313 4 Claims. ((11. 12871) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in a device for flexing the knee, hip, and vertebrae of the back of a person and to be used in connection with a traction machine for pulling and releasing a person whose lower extremities are imposed upon said device.

An object of the invention is to provide a roller carriage device of the character described having inclined front and back sections hinged together at the apex and mounted upon rollers adapted to guide said carriage in straight line forward and rearward on a table.

Another object of the invention is to provide a roller carriage device of the character described having inclined front and back sections hinged at the apex with means to allow free hinging action inwardly and outwardly of said sections at said apex to permit free changing of the angle of inclination of said front and back sections with respect to each other.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a roller carriage device of the character described whereby a person may lie on his back in a reclining position on a table with both legs imposed over said device with knee above apex thereof and with back sides of the forelegs bearing against the inclined outer surface of the front section of said device with the feet in suspension above the top of the table and with the back sides of the thighs bearing against the inclined outer surface of the rear section of said device with the buttocks resting on the top of the table so that the lower extremities are carried by said device as a hinging roller carriage to compensate directly proportional to weight, position of legs thereon, position of the buttocks and back thereto and with respect to the top of the table upon which a person is reclining, and with respect to the pull and release of the lower extremities of a person in administering traction by means of a traction machine. This causes said person so positioned and reclining with belt around his waist to be drawn and be pulled feet first towards said traction machine then released to allow the person to retract and to roll back to normal inert position by successive timed alternating pulls and releasesthus carrying the lower extremities upon hinging roller carriage ligaments, etc., of the lower extremities will recoil and-- retract rearwardly to normal position to roll back and return said carriage and lower extremities of said person ,to original position. v v

A still further object of the invention is to provide a .roller carriage device of the character described whereby .when-the lower extremities of a person reclining thereon and positioned on his back on a table with respect there- :to as intended with belt around waist and attached to an :alternating timed pull and release traction machine that said hinged roller carriage device in carrying the lower extremities forward toward said. traction machine by pull thereof that after the front pair and rear pair of rollers of said device-have traveled a certain distance along the 'table top on which the person is reclining with his lower extremities carried in suspension on' said device that further pull and tension thereby exerted by said traction machine in extending, stretching and flexing the members of the knees, hips, and vertebrae of said person will cause the rear pair of rollers of said roller carriage device and rear section of said device carried thereby to roll forward more after the front pair of rollers have stopped rolling forward thereby causing the rear section of said device to pivot on the hinge which connects the inclined front and rear sections at the apex formed by the hinge joint connection between said inclined front and rear sections of said device. During said pivotal movement of the inclined rear section forward the bottom of the rear section and the rollers thereof are caused to move closer to the bottom of the front section and the rollers thereof and thereby change the angle of inclination of both said front and rear sections thus elevating the apex formed by the hinged pivotal joinder of the top of the front and rear inclined sections causing the members of the knees, hips, and vertebrae of the back to flex more and causing the weight of the buttocks to be raised from the top of the table from inert position and further causing the vertebrae, especially the segments of the sacrum, lumbar, and dorsal vertebrae, to open posteriorly outwardly apart as the lower back has been arched and curved upwardly by the buttocks having been raised from the top of the table. During the movement of the bottom of the rear section and rollers thereof moving toward and closer to the bottom of the rear section and the rollers thereof during which closing movement the front and back section pivot at the hinge elevating the apex of the juncture of said sections at the apex thereof thus raising the buttocks from the top of the table. The pull of the traction machine may be from a middle or cross bar to a belt between the legs, or preferably by pulling from the sides of the belt around the waist of the person in traction so that, the front section and the rollers having come to a halt in travel, the elevation of the apex at the top of said front and rear sections is raised by the further travel of the rear section and rollers thereof advancing inwardly at the bottom thereof and forward and closer to the bottom of the front section and the rollers thereof thus also changing the angle of inclination of the both front and rear sections of said device during the further forward movement of the rear section toward the front section after the rolling movement of the front section stops and the further pull of traction machine has caused the rear section to continue to travel forward.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a roller carriage device of the character described having means to limit the outward movement of the bottoms of the front and rear sections and the rollers thereof from each other but will permit the inward movement of the bottoms of the front and rear section and the rollers thereof toward each other.

'These and other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be more fully disclosed in the specification, one embodiment of which is illustrated in the drawing, in which:

The drawing shows a side view partly sectional of the roller carriage device with a person in reclining position on the top of a table with the knees bent over the top of the apex of said device and the back of the forelegs bearing against the outer surface of the front section with the feet in suspension above the top of the table and the back of the thighs bearing against the outer surface of the rear section and the buttocks resting on the top of the table and showing the traction machine forward of the front end of the table and the cable and spring thereof attached to the cross bar to which belt straps are attached and leading to and attached at two places on each side of the belt surrounding the waist of the person to be administered the traction and showing a pair of rollers at the bottom of each of the front and rear sections of the device contacting the top of said table, and, showing another belt tightened over the chest and under the arms and around the table for holding the torso and the upper portion of the person in position on the table against being pulled out of position with the traction machine.

The roller carriage device as used in connection with a traction machine and table in administering traction to the lower extremities and the vertebrae of the spine of a person will be better understood from a more detailed description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. The numeral 1 denotes table with top 2 and having legs 3 which rest upon floor 4. The housing 5 of an alternating traction machine of the pull and release type is provided with usual mechanism well known in the art whereby cable 6 travels over sheave 7 and winds around a drum 8 when the machine is pulling and when the machine releases the said cable 6 un- Winds from said drum 8. The outer end of a spring 9 is attached to the outer end 10 of said cable 6 and the inner end of said spring 9 is attached to a cross bar 11 having projections 12-12 at each end of said cross bar 11. Links 14-14 are pivotally attached at pins 13-13. Said links 14-14 have eyelets 15-15 to receive belt straps 16-16 which are threaded thru said eyelets 15-15 and the ends of straps 16-16 are connected to the projections 17-17 at each side of the belt 18 which surrounds the waist of a person 20. The outline of a person 20 is indicated by dashed lines in the drawing and is shown with his back on the table top 2 and the underside of his forelegs 38-38 bent over the apex 48 of the hinged roller carriage.

Chest belt 19 is tightened around the chest of a person and under the arms of a person and around the table top 2 for holding the upper portion of a person in position against the pull of the traction machine.

The roller carriage device proper is comprised of two inclined sections, being front section 21 and rear section 22 aligned to guide said carriage in straight line forward and rearward on table top 2 with front section 21 being mounted at its bottom 23 upon a pair of front rollers 24 and the rear section 22 being mounted at its bottom 25 upon a pair of rear rollers 26 and the upper end 27 of front section 21 is pivotally hinged to upper end 28 of rear section 22 by hinge sections 29 and 30 respectively by means of pivot pin 31. The hinge sections 29 and 30 respectively are attached to inclined front section 21 and inclined rear section 22 by means of screws 32 and 33. A chain 34 is pivotally attached at its respective ends to lugs 35 and 36 projecting from the undersides of said front section 21 and rear section 22 to limit the outward movement of the bottoms 23 and 25 and the rollers 24 and 26 respectively attached thereto, but said chain 34 will permit the inward movements of said bottoms 23 and 25 and the respective rollers 24 and 26 thereon.

The back sides 37 of the forelegs 38 of a person such as at 20 bear against the outer surface 39 of inclined front section 21 and the back sides of thighs 40 of a person such as at 20 bear against the outer surface 41 of inclined rear section 22 with the buttocks 42 and the back 43 of a person such as at 20 bearing against the top 2 of said table 1 with the person in position for the administration of traction to him by the traction machine 5. The traction machine has its cable 6 attached to the cross bar 11 and the belt straps 16-16 connected both to the cross bar 11 and the belt 18 which surrounds the waist of a person 20 as indicated in the drawing showing the person reclining on table 1 with chest belt 19 in place as indicated in the drawing. In the operation of the roller carriage device when used in connection with traction machine, table and accessories named a pull by the traction machine upon the cable 6 will cause the forward pull on the belt 18 around the persons waist by the belt straps 16-16 attached to said belt 18 at each side of the person. The rollers 24 and 26 will roll forward a short distance of approximately one-half inch at which time the front pair of rollers 24 will stop and the rear pair of rollers 26 will continue to roll forward flexing the members of knee joint 44, hip joint 45, and the joints 46 between the vertebrae 47 and the segments of sacrum, lumbar and dorsal section of the spine of a person opening the segments of the vertebrae outwardly at the lower back and spine. The lower spine particularly will curve upward as the buttocks 42 are lifted and raised from the top 2 or the table 1 at the beginning and during the further pull by the cable 6 after the pair of front rollers 24 have stopped and the rear rollers 26 continue to roll toward the front rollers 24 thus changing the angle of inclination of both front section 21 and rear section 22 from their respective normal starting positions. This action will cause the hinge members 29 and 30 to pivot on pivot pin 31 elevating the top ends 27 and 28 respectively of inclined sections 21 and 22 which forms the apex at their tops over which apex the knee joint 44 is bent.

The forelegs 38-38 are bent over the apex 48 of the hinged roller carriage and suspended downwardly with the entire weight of the forelegs bearing against the outer surface 39 of front section 21. When upward forward pull by the traction applying means 6, 7 and 8 of the traction machine is exerted on its cable 6 and pulls on the belt straps 16-16 attached to the waist belt 18 fitted around the waist of a person, such as at 20, the pull raises the thighs 40 and buttocks 42 of the person off of the table top 2. In response to the force of the forward pull by the cable 6 both of the pair of front rollers 24 and the pair of rear rollers 26, being mounted on antifrictional bearings, will roll forward slightly until the weight of the thighs and buttocks are raised slightly from table top 2. At that time the underside of the thighs 40 and buttocks 42 will be pressed more tightly against the lower end of outer inclined surface 41 of rear section 22 and will cause the rear section 22 to pivot on pivot pin 31 as the forward movement of front rollers 24 are stopped due to the weight of the forelegs, thighs, and buttocks which have been raised slightly from table top 2 and transmitted to the underside of the forelegs and against the outer inclined surface 39 of front section 21 which now sustains the entire weight of forelegs, thighs, and buttocks thereby stopping the forward roll of front section 21, but since the buttocks are being pulled forward and upward somewhat the rear section will hinge and roll forward slightly toward stopped front section 21. Upon release of the traction pull the front section 21 and rear section 22 Will roll backwards to their respective starting positions as the weight of the forelegs, thighs, and buttocks are released and will fall downwardly until the buttocks again rests on the table top 2. During this return movement the chain 34 will straighten out and become taut again as the roller carriage will support the weight of the forelegs positioning the carriage and the person thereon for successive repetitions of the pelvic traction process.

During the operation of the hinged roller carriage the movement of the bottom 25 of rear section 22 and its rollers 26 toward the bottom 23 of front section 21 and its roller 24 the knee joints 44, hip joints 45 and joints 46 between the vertebrae 47 are flexed and the spine, especially in the lower back, will curve upward. When the front rollers have travelled their alloted distance and stop rolling and the rear rollers have advanced more and come to a stop the angle of inclination of both front and rear sections 21 and 23 respectively have increased over the angle of inclination of said sections 21 and 23 from that of their respective normal starting positions. This raises the apex 48 thus curving the lower back upward and opening the joints 46 outwardly between the vertebrae 47 in administering what is known as pelvic traction. ThlS greatly relieves tension of the nerves which may be pinched between the joints 46 of the vertebrae 47.

Upon release of the pull by the traction machine 5 on the cable 6, which machine is adapted for alternate suc- Pas i e Pull a d releases at timed intervals, a repetition of the method of administering pelvic traction as described in this invention can be accomplished in a smooth reciprocating rhythmic action.

It is obvious that many changes in the construction and arrangement of the parts of the device may be made Without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. In a traction device the combination of a table having means to secure the upper trunk of a patient thereto, a hinged roller carriage having a pair of inclined sections connected by a hinge means at their topmost ends, said roller carriage having antifrictional rollers mounted beneath said sections and being located on the table top surface adjacent said trunk securing means, movement limiting means connecting said sections below said hinge means, and traction applying means including strap means to engage the lower trunk of a reclining patient, saidtraction applying means being located on one end of said table and adapted to apply traction to a patient who is secured to the table top surface with his legs draped over said roller carriage.

2. In a traction device the combination of a table having means to secure the upper trunk a patient thereto, a hinged roller carriage having a pair of inclined sections connected by a hinge means at their topmost ends, said roller carriage having antifrictional rollers mounted beneath said sections and being located on the table top surface adjacent said trunk securing means, flexible means connecting said sections below said hinge means for limiting outward movement of the lower ends of said sections, and traction applying means including strap means to engage the lower trunk of a reclining patient, said traction applying means being located on one end of said table and adapted to apply traction to a patient who is secured to the table top surface with his legs draped over said roiler carriage.

3. In a traction device the combination of a table having means to secure the upper trunk of a patient thereto,

a hinge-d roller carriage having a pair of inclined sections connected by a hinge means at their topmost ends, said roller carriage having antifrictional rollers mounted beneath said sections and being located on the table top surface adjacent said trunk securing means, movement limiting means connecting said sections below said hinge means, and traction applying means including strap means to engage belt means surrounding the lower trunk of a reclining patient, said traction applying means being located on one end of said table and adapted to apply traction to a patient who is secured to the table top surface with his legs draped over said roller carriage.

4. In a traction device the combination of a table having means to secure the upper trunk of a patient thereto, a hinged roller carriage having a pair of inclined sections connected by a hinge means at their topmost ends, said roller carriage having antifrictional rollers mounted beneath said sections and being located on the table top surface adjacent said trunk securing means, movement limiting means connecting said sections below said hinge means, and traction applying means including strap means to engage belt means surrounding the lower trunk of a reclining patient, said traction applying means including a reciprocating tension pull and release means attached to said strap means engaging said belt means surrounding the lower truck of a reclining patient with the traction applying means being located on one end of said table and adapted to apply traction to a patient who is secured to the table top surface with his legs draped over said roller carriage.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 439,255 10/1890 Ruebsam 128842 620,318 2/1899 Havnar 128-71 1,374,115 4/1921 Roemer 12871 RICHARD A. GAUDET, Primary Examiner. I. W. HINEY, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A TRACTION DEVICE THE COMBINATION OF A TABLE HAVING MEANS TO SECURE THE UPPER TRUNK OF A PATIENT THERETO, A HINGED ROLLER CARRIAGE HAVING A PAIR OF INCLINED SECTIONS CONNECTED BY A HINGE MEANS AT THEIR TOPMOST ENDS, SAID ROLLER CARRIAGE HAVING ANTIFRICTIONAL ROLLERS MOUNTED BENEATH SAID SECTIONS AND BEING LOCATED ON THE TABLE TOP SURFACE ADJACENT SAID TRUNK SECURING MEANS, MOVEMENT LIMITING MEANS CONNECTING SAID SECTIONS BELOW SAID HINGE MEANS, AND TRACTION APPLYING MEANS INCLUDING STRAP MEANS TO ENGAGE THE LOWER TRUNK OF RECLINING PATIENT, SAID TRACTION APPLYING MEANS BEING LOCATED ON ONE END OF SAID TABLE AND ADAPTED TO APPLY TRACTION TO A PATIENT WHO IS SECURED TO THE TABLE TOP SURFACE WITH HIS LEGS DRAPED OVER SAID ROLLER CARRIAGE. 